Viva Energy’s convenience and mobility (C&M) segment has reported a decline in convenience sales and fuel volumes for the third quarter, caused by ongoing pressures in the retail fuel market and a smaller store network.
Convenience sales dropped 12.5 per cent to $392 million from $448 million a year earlier, although sales excluding tobacco remained steady.
Tobacco sales fell 15 per cent year-on-year, in line with longer-term declines in the category, but remained stable month-to-month in this quarter.
Convenience gross margin rose to 41 per cent, up 3.5 percentage points, driven by changes in product mix, range and pricing.
The company said it remained on track to deliver $35 million in cost reductions and synergies in the second half of the fiscal year through system and organisational consolidation.
So far this year, 21 new On The Run (OTR) stores have opened, with another 15 under construction and expected to be completed by year-end.
Six Liberty Convenience conversions are also planned for the fourth quarter, with some openings having been pushed to January to align with seasonal demand.
C&M is planning to expand its Scan Pump Save app across the express network in the fourth quarter, providing customers with a unified digital experience and pay-at-pump capability across company-controlled sites.
The company has also appointed Jennifer Gray as interim convenience and mobility (C&M) CEO as the company begins its search for a permanent CEO.
The company said Gray will be supported by independent non-executive director John Joyce in the interim and will focus on “driving top-line growth, capturing synergies and cost reductions, and leveraging common systems to lift operational performance.”
